In recent years, the use of cellular phones, music players, video players, video games, computers, and a variety of hand-held electronic products has greatly increased. Because they are hand-held, some of those electronic devices as computers are often carried by the user in a separate case. There have been attempts to create wearable electronics such as music players integrated into the frames of eyewear, as well as wearable computers. However, due to a disconnection between electronic products and the biological aspects of the human body, prior art devices have failed to provide a useful wearable electronic apparatus that adequately interact with the human body and which fits anatomically and physiologically with the body.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide electronic devices and electronic functions which are hand-free and can be worn on the surface of the body in a biologically fit manner. The present invention provides a convergence between electronic products and the biological and anatomical aspects of the human body and biomechanics of the body while providing a series of hands-free wearable electronic apparatus that can interact with human senses and physiology of the body in a practical manner.
Housing electronics and/or power source in the frames of eyeglasses, as provided by prior art devices, creates bulky, heavy, cumbersome, and uncomfortable gear, which consistently places a heavy weight against the users' ears which can generate discomfort. Moreover, such heavy and awkward eyeglasses are cosmetically undesirable with buttons, ear buds, and other unattractive parts being visible at all times, taking away the elegance that can be the key feature of eyeglasses frames, and making them unsuited for use on a daily basis including at work, at school, or attending formal events.
A further problem for the prior art devices is that they rely on wires passing through the hinges at the front portion of the temples. This makes the manufacturing process difficult and more expensive. In addition, because the wires running through the hinges are repeatedly folded and unfolded with the temples of the glasses, the wires have a tendency to become damaged, substantially reducing the useful lifespan of the products.
The large size and heavy weight of eyeglass frames housing electronics can prevent a comfortable fit and use. U.S. Patent Application Nos. 20040059212 and 20040242976 describe eyeglasses to measure biological parameters wirelessly. However, because the electronics and wireless transmitter are housed in the eyeglass frames, the frames are heavy and can cause discomfort over time.
Bulky, prior art eyeglass frames or head mounted gear that house electronics and/or power sources and/or and unsightly ear buds in a non-removable fashion require the user to wear the device at all times, even when the electronic functionality of the device is not being used.
The prior art also discloses “wearable” computers. Typically, however, these devices are complicated and not practical to use. Moreover, because they are not adapted to fit well onto a human body, their weight is not well distributed, and will normally cause discomfort to the wearer, discouraging long term use of the devices.
Wearable articles of clothing (including hats) with permanent electronics embedded on them are financially unattractive, because discarding the wearable article would also require throwing away the embedded electronics device. Similarly, a desire to replace or upgrade the electronics device requires disposal of the wearable article.
Many people use different types of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, PDA's, etc. Another deficiency of the prior art is a failure to disclose eyeglasses or wearable articles in which the user has the option to choose from a plurality of electronic functionalities using the same eyeglasses frame or wearable article.
Another problem with electronic devices such as computers, DVD players, cellular telephone, digital music player, and electronic organizers, is that in order to be operated they require the user to hold the device or place the device on an object (such as a piece of furniture or the floor) for support. It would be very useful to have an electronic device which does not require being held or placed on an object for support.
In addition, “hand-held” devices require that they be held. While some cellular phones and digital music/video players have accessories that permit the user to use the device without having to hold it, using such apparatus and accessories is cumbersome, and it is necessary to carry and store the accessories until they are actually used. Furthermore, it is easy to forget to bring the accessory, such as the ear bud or a strap to secure a digital player to the body, when is needed.
Moreover, hand-held devices are easily lost or misplaced, and unattended hand-held devices can be easily stolen. It is common for people to forget their hand-held devices in restaurants, airplanes, taxi cabs, etc. It would be very useful to have a non-hand held and hands-free device that can be worn in a comfortable, non-obtrusive, and biologically-fit manner without requiring the user to carry extra devices or accessories in addition to the equipment already being worn on the body.
The Problem of Pain and Discomfort
The human body has a limited ability to support weight before pain is elicited. Furthermore, each part of the human body, such as the neck, shoulder and ear has different thresholds for activation of pain fibers. If the weight pattern is not biologically fit, the stimulus of the device on the skin will become annoying, and pain receptor endings within the skin will be stimulated. By adequately spreading the weight of the electronic wearable article resting on the body only pressure receptors of the peripheral nerves are activated, and not the painful “nociceptors” (described further below). By providing a wearable electronic device with a biologically fit weight distribution pattern, the pain and discomfort associated with the weight of the device is not elicited.
There are basically three sensory responses from contacts with the human skin: (1) mechanical sensations, (2) thermal sensations, and (3) nociceptive or pain sensations. Nerve fibers course into the skin through the dermis, and many of them end at the dermal-epidermal border where many of the sensory receptor structures are located. The largest class of receptors consists of the ones with no specialized structure at all, which are the free nerve endings for pain whereas encapsulated nerve endings are usually associated with light touch and pressure sensations.
Axons of peripheral nerves are divided up, according to their conduction velocity, into A, B and C fibers, and the A fibers are subdivided into A.alpha., A.beta., A.gamma., and A.delta. classes, in descending order of conduction velocity. Ordinary sensory information such as touch information is conducted by A.beta. fibers, and pain sensation is carried by A.delta. and C fibers. For any wearable electronic article to be worn comfortably for long periods of time, the design and weight distribution as well as the weight pattern of the apparatus should not activate A.delta. and C fibers of the anatomic region supporting the electronic device.
The pain receptors and C fibers in the skin of the ear are activated at much earlier stage than the pain receptors and C fibers of the nose. Therefore, to prevent activation of the user's pain receptors, a biologically fit weight pattern for eyeglasses distributes as much weight as possible onto the nose and as little as possible directly against the ear. Likewise, the C fibers, pain receptors and pressure receptors in the neck are activated earlier than the C-fibers, pain receptors, and pressure receptors of the shoulder and chest. Therefore, to increase the time prior to activation of pain receptors, a biologically fit weight pattern, for a wearable computer for example, includes distributing the weight in the shoulder and chest area and avoiding the weight being supported solely or mainly by the neck. Other biologically fit embodiments that distribute the weight in the back and shoulder area will be shown in the accompanying drawings and description.
Good weight distribution, as taught by the present invention, needs to be coupled to a proper amount of weight, to avoid activating mechanically sensitive nociceptors, which lead to discomfort and painful sensation. To prevent stimulation of pain, it is necessary that the weight of the apparatus applied to the anatomic area only activates pressure receptors but not C fibers and pain receptors. In the case of wearable electronics, C fibers can be activated by excessive pressure itself and chemicals released by damaged cells, such as crush injury, caused the weight of the device. This is important from a clinical stand point and future ability to wear the wearable electronic article, since after activation of C fiber, the next time that the user tries to wear an even lighter weight device in the same area, pain may result, a phenomenon called hyperalgia, preventing thus future use of the device for a potentially long period of time.
Receptors are discrete structures connected to nerve fibers and embedded in the skin. Although in some regions the density of receptors is very high, there are areas in which there are few receptors. The receptors in the skin of neck and ear, represented by anatomic areas supporting devices of the prior art, are very sensitive to mechanical stimuli, requiring displacements of only a few to tens of micrometers to excite them. When the stimuli is strong enough it can produce damage and become painful. By having proper weight and proper weight distribution, as per the present invention, the pain fibers of the anatomic areas supporting the weight are not activated and over time the pressure fibers, such as A.beta. fibers, adapt to the weight, which allows absolute comfort during use.
As a way of illustration, but not of limitation, two anatomic areas of the body and their representative preferred embodiments, wearable electronic eyeglasses and wearable computer, will be described. People who wear eyeglasses usually see indentation on the skin of the nose, but feel no significant discomfort. On the other hand, significant discomfort is felt when only minor mispositioning of temples occur around the ear. This occurs because the skin in the nose area has few pain receptors and C fibers, while the skin around the ear is more densely populated with pain receptors and C fibers.
It is possible to quantify the sensitivity of an anatomic area. The number of receptor locations for pain in the ear per square centimeter is in the range of 120 to 160 in comparison to the nose which is in the range of 35 to 55. The number of receptor locations for touch per square centimeter in the ear is in the range of 40 to 70 in comparison to the nose which is in the range of 90 to 110.
Even regular eyeglasses with conventional weight can cause discomfort around the skin of the ear if there is not a good fit because of the larger density of pain receptors in this area. Naturally, placing weight against the ear by temples housing electronics and/or power sources will likely elicit discomfort and pain over time. Therefore by mechanically displacing the weight to other areas that have less pain receptors and fibers, such as the nose, there is a reduction in the amount of pain receptors that will be activated, and an increase in the comfort level of the wearer.
The number of receptor locations for pain in the neck per square centimeter is in the range of 170 to 200 in comparison to the shoulder and chest which is in the range of 120 to 150. Therefore by mechanically displacing the weight from the neck to other areas that have less pain fibers, such as the shoulder and chest, there is a reduction in the amount of pain fibers and receptors activated.
The problem of wearable devices is further compounded by the fact that a wearable device to be truly useful has to be compact and interact with senses and biological functions of the body in a practical manner.